Should government play a role in innovation?

Fareed Zakaria published an interesting article in this week's TIME Magazine. He notes that:

"the ecosystem that encourages technological breakthroughs and their application does not develop in a vacuum. It requires great universities, vibrant companies that devote time and energy to research and — yes — large amounts of government funding." (TIME Magazine)

 Zakaria makes an interesting assertion in the article: he states that, in many countries such as Germany and even China, the public unquestioningly accepts the idea that government should play a role in research and development, and therefore in innovation in general. He compares that to the attitudes of many in American society who question the role that the state should play in funding research at universities and within government agencies.